Banks make a financial statement

Big banks might have kept their heads down in 2010, but those days are over.

A group of banks launched a super PAC to zero in on key congressional races recently. Earlier this year, financial services groups held a high-profile fundraiser for a candidate challenging a senior Senate Republican. And the industry is remembering its friends on Capitol Hill — shelling out cash to lawmakers who have consistently voted their way.

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It’s a PR shift for banks, who lowered their profile after the widely unpopular bank bailout, which served as a rallying cry for the tea party.

But after President Barack Obama signed the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill into law and the Occupy Wall Street movement amplified anti-bank rhetoric that even some Democrats in Congress picked up, it appears the industry has had enough. They’re taking a more vocal stand this cycle, and they’ve shown they’re willing to back up their talk with serious money — a scenario that should make both Democrats and some Republicans nervous heading into the summer campaign season.

“No one likes being kicked around, and there’s definitely that sentiment,” said Scott Talbott, senior vice president for government affairs at the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the banking industry in addition to other financial interests.

The banking industry has always been a major player in political spending, but its increasingly aggressive tactics are a sign that some in the industry want to pack more of a punch on Capitol Hill, particularly with the sweeping overhaul to the financial system still under way and with big legislative reforms on the horizon.

“They just feel pretty picked on by everyone,” said one financial services lobbyist. “And there’s two ways of dealing with that, hiding and waiting for it to go away — and judging from the rhetoric of the campaign it’s probably going to get worse. It sounds like some guys have gotten fed up, and they’re going to put their money where their mouth is and try to fight back as best they can.”

Their latest strike: state banking associations launched a super PAC late last month dubbed the Friends of Traditional Banking.

Its stated purpose is to support members of Congress “who show a consistent understanding of the vital importance of traditional banking in our communities and our local economies,” and to oust those who don’t. “Together we can become a force that Congress will listen to and respect,” their website says.

Howard Headlee, president of the Utah Bankers Association and treasurer for the new super PAC, said traditional banks have taken a beating, and they’re tired of the vitriol they’ve confronted.

“We had a crisis, there was an attempt to address certain weaknesses associated with that crisis and then it just went totally overboard for no reason,” Headlee said.

“We went to Washington repeatedly and told congressmen the same thing over and over again: ‘Don’t do this, there’s these unintended consequences, you’re going to impact traditional banking. It’s going to make the recovery slower; it’s going to make it more difficult.’ They didn’t listen at all and they seemed propelled by these extreme interests.”